Dresden Files: life after dresden
by yeti100
Summary: old story written once i reached the end of changes after a three month crash course through the series up till that point. told from the point of view of Karrin Murphy having to deal with another troublesome wizard entering her life.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: i don't own the dresden files, this is created for purely fun purposes, umm Jim Butcher Rocks

This is my first leap into the fan fiction world of the Dresden files, quite possibly my favourite book series to date. This could hopefully continue but first i would like some feedback on this chapter which is going to act as a bit of a prologue. Any hints tips criticisms(constructive) will be listened to and appreciated. That said please enjoy

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><p>I heard the phone ring from somewhere next to my head. Despite having a pretty decent cellphone I kept the old phone hooked up as well, in my line of work you never know when a wizard could call. As it happens today was one of those days when a wizard decided to call, just not the one I'd been hoping for, ever since...Shaking loose any and all depressing thoughts in my head I answered the phone.<p>

"Murphy"

I growled the word into the phone, trying to instill at least some fear into whoever had woken me up

"Hey Murphy this is Carlos Ramirez, umm not sure if you remember me, with the Wardens, fought in the deeps together"

Every word out of his mouth was tense, like he was walking over thin ice and hoping it wouldn't crack. Everything I remember about the guy told me he was cocky, arrogant and an all round pain in the ass. Why the hell was this guy treading so carefully then? I realised with some satisfaction that he was trying to avoid pissing me off.

"Yeah I remember you, it's early what do you want?"

Dear god I'm as bad as Harry is-was, Dammit. I took a few more moments to stuff my depression back into it's cage and ended up missing the first part of Ramirez's reply

"...member of the paranet has identified a potential talent in Chicago, Fairly strong too, potentially a council member with the right training"

I cast about my mind for details of the paranet. I remember Harry told me about them, a big web of minor talents tied together so they could protect themselves when the wardens were busy, less of a problem now the wars over. Before he died Harry had suggested using this group of little fish to identify bigger fish, people who had enough power to break the laws of magic before someone told them there were laws. They had dredged up a new talent, that made sense in a city of millions, what didn't make sense was Ramirez calling me.

"OK that's good, one less kid to get his or her head chopped off by the 'good guys', but why are you ringing me?"

I was trying to be polite, but honestly after everything the council put Harry through, and the fact that it was 6am, I just wasn't in the mood for playing nice, even if Ramirez isn't as bad as the rest of the council.

"Right well, as temporary regional commander of the Chicago area it's my job to dispatch someone to speak with the family and, ah to hell with it i'll be blunt, the kid we found's a Murphy, more specifically your nephew"

A sudden surge of adrenaline nearly threw me out of my bed, Jesus no wonder Ramirez had called me, and no wonder he was nervous, i'd never had much patience for the council bullshit when it was just Harry who had to deal with them, family complicated things. My family were mostly oblivious to the supernatural world that surrounds them, having a wizard in the family was gonna change that fast.

"Oh hell Jamie. Lisa is gonna love this. Who are you sending down to talk with them"

My little sister was about as oblivious to the supernatural as a person could get. Her husband Rick was in a state of denial having refused to believe despite nearly being killed by a Fetch. Trying to tell the both of them that their only son was a wizard would cause some trouble to say the least, My relationship with them being what it was.

"Anastasi luccio, reckon you've at least heard of her, she's taken up full time in recruitment, seems she built a taste for it during the war. Reckon her combat skills are gonna come in handy now. She's using a Way to get to chicago, can you pick her up"

I quickly grabbed a pen and scrawled a pick-up point. I had never met Luccio in person, at least not for very long. Harry had told me-skating over the intimate details-that she was a good woman, willing to place herself in danger to protect her recruits during the war, now that the reds were out of the picture she had apparently continued where she left off. At least they were sending me someone experienced to brave clan Murphy.

"Alright i'll meet her there, thanks for the heads up"

Ramirez hung up and that left me in silence for a few moments. Aside from telling my family this wasn't really a bad thing, but I couldn't stop myself from worrying.  
>The only Wizard i'd properly known threw himself into danger as many times as possible and ended up broken, bruised and eventually dead. I tried to reason with myself,<br>the war was over, and most wizards live very long and happy lives. It was a very reasonable arguement, but my heart told me otherwise. Jamie had the familial streak of stubborness, if he found out about the supernatural, what was to stop him getting involved as well? What was to stop him getting hurt? Me. Once i'd decided on that I got up got dressed and went to meet Anastasia Luccio. It wasn't far to the meeting point Anastasia was waiting for me. Despite her young appearance I knew she was several times older than me, unfortunately some spook had swapped bodies and now she looked like she'd just left college. She opened the door and climbed into my car, I waited for seat belts before aiming the car towards my sisters house. For the first couple of minutes everything was silent.

"I confess I'm not sure how to address you, Ebenezar warned me not to call you miss under any circumstances, but..."

She kept her gaze calm and focused on the road in front of us. Something told me she caught the little glimpse of sadness in my eyes but chose to ignore it. I couldn't claim the tile of sergeant anymore.

"Karrin, my friends call me Karrin. And if you're willing to brave my family to help my nephew, well that makes you a friend"

She allowed a small smile to cross her lips. Without wearing any of the parephenalia of a wizard she looked just like a regular woman. I realised at that point that I really didn't have any female friends my own age.

"Thank you Karrin, please call me Anastasia. I'm not completely sure what to expect from your family, how would you suggest approaching them"

From as far away as possible, having a place nearby to hop into the never never wouldn't hurt either. My sister was going to freak out. But then again her son although oblivious, was always more open to things than his mother.

"talk to Jamie, he's gonna be most receptive to the whole idea, if these paranet guys found him then he's probably already done some magic, right?"

she nodded her agreement and mused on my words, children as a whole were a resilient bunch, they also respond most flexibly to change, the older you get the more set in your ways you become. We batted details back and forth, me giving more information about how to tackle my sister, Anastasia telling me about some of the other young wizards she's met and how she got through to them. All too soon we were at my sisters house. I'd much rather face down another loup-garou than this. Lisa opened the door and greeted me with a polite smile-about as much as I was expecting. She also cast a suspicious eye over Anastasia.

"Hi Lisa sorry for turning up uninvited, this is my friend Anastasia, may we both come in?"

I felt kind of sneaky for phrasing the question that way, but I knew enough about thresholds to know they could cause trouble for Anastasia on the way through, forcing her to leave most of her power at the door. My sister nodded curtly and welcomed us inside. Once seated on a large and comfortable couch she went about offering food and drinks and generally mothering us both. I couldn't deny she had grown into the role well, keeping the house well run while Rick earnt them a living. Our relationship had improved a bit over the years. So much for that. After receiving a nod from Anastasia I bit the bullet and told her.

"Lisa do you believe in magic, cause we think there's a chance that Jamie is a wizard"

All the pleasantries that had been bubbling on the surface disappeared, and she looked at me like I was mad. Anastasia got an equally withering look.

"What are you talking about? of course I don't believe in such nonsense, is this some kind of prank Karrin, are you trying to make fun of me just because of how your life ended up? are you jealous?"

It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting, denial followed by suspicion working it's way straight into flat out aggression. She continued this way for several minutes while we just sat there and waited for her to run out of breath. She didn't. Luckily Jamie appeared on the stairs, it looked like he had been listening in.

"Mum, I don't think they're lying to you"

Jamie walked quietly down the stairs so we could see him and he surveyed the room quickly, taking in myself and Anastasia. At fifteen he was already taller than his mum and myself, which isn't as impressive as it sounds as the pair of us stand at about five nothing. He had short cut blonde hair and bright blue eyes. the rest of him was pretty typical teenager, dark jeans and a dark hoody covered most of him, his hand were hidden in his pockets and he was refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Knowing what i did about soul gazes It sparked my curiosity.

"What are you talking about sweetie? this is just your aunt playing tricks, go finish your homework"

Despite her urgings the kid stayed put, I could see him trying to build up his nerve to speak. Hell this must be hard on the kid.

"They aren't playing tricks mum, look"

Jamie held out his right hand palm up and screwed up his face in concentration. the room darkened slightly and I felt the subtle signs of magic in the air. Although unlike my previous experiences this was tiny barely on the edge of my perceptions, something I would have missed if i wasn't looking for them. In my nephews hand was a tiny spark of light, hovering about and inch above his palm. After a second the light disappeared and he sagged visibly clutching his head. My sister just stared at him in shock.

"How? what was? that's not possible"

Lisa looked ready to collapse, Jamie moved to help her sit down, unfortunately in repsonse my sister did the worst thing she could in that situation. She flinched. it wasn't much of a movement. But Jamie was almost as perceptive as I was and didn't miss it. Hiding a tear in his eye he ran, grabbing his bag as he went, before I could leave my seat I heard the back door slam shut. That could have gone better.

"Karrin tend to your sister, I believe I will have more success speaking to Jamie"

I nodded my agreement and watched her disappear out of the back door

"Lisa please I know this is huge, too huge to deal with in one day, but he's your kid, you mustn't be scared of him"

She simply waved off my attempts to talk and made a cup of coffee in the kitchen, I let her go about her task. Once she had taken a sip she faced me with a serious look on her face.

"This can't be possible Karrin, what's happened to my little boy?"

For the first time in a long time I felt sympathy for my sister. I had reacted almost the same to having the supernatural shoved in my face, and that was without a child involved. sitting down next to her I put my arm over her shoulder and squeezed. Trying to give some sense of comfort in the gesture. Given how often I hug people my sister reacted with surprise but didn't shrug me off.

"I know this is big, but I know about this stuff, i can answer your questions when you're ready to ask, the most important thing right now is that you talk to Jamie,  
>tell him it's ok. This isn't a bad thing Lisa OK"<p>

I felt fresh sobs wrack through my sister, but she was also nodding her head in agreement. once I was certain she was OK i got up from my seat and told her I was going to find Jamie, help bring him back to talk. I didn't have to try very hard to find him. Ever since he was little the kid loved the park, a huge wide open space, no boundaries, no crowds of people. It was a good place to be. I found him up one of his favourite trees and much to my surprise and amusement, I also found Anastasia.  
>The woman seemed perfectly relaxed and was laying along the length of one of the branches talking to Jamie, at the base of the tree I could hear them pretty well so I stopped and listened.<p>

"She was afraid of me, cause I'm some kind of freak"

I remember Harry telling me some stories that started like this. Different and not knowing why, it's hard to deal with on your own, luckily Anastasia seemed to know just how to reassure him.

"You aren't a freak you're a wizard, and I can tell you from my experience and the experience of others that many parents react this way, it is fear of the unknown, not fear of you, My parents reacted the same way, your mother just needs time"

I couldn't see him but I could almost feel him raise the same skeptical eyebrow that I had flashed Harry a number of times. Call it a family trait. Anastasia merely chuckled clearly amused.

"I don't know about that, mum has never believed in this stuff. neither did I until...Are you sure I'm a wizard? sure we aren't both just crazy?

I felt a sharp pang of sympathy in my chest. Jamie had been slapped in the face by all of this just as hard as his mother. Puberty is hard enough, it was some twisted mind that made a wizards talents manifest at the same time.

"I could tell you yes, but I think I have a way of showing you instead, I want you to look into my eyes"

A soul gaze, I was half tempted to intervene at that point. I had made a point of avoiding soul gazes wherever I could, because for the most part they were unnerving experiences. For another I wasn't sure I wanted someone getting a peak at me soul. It was then I realized something important, a soul gaze would stick with Jamie forever,  
>but also show him the truth of anastasia, even if he doubted her words he couldn't doubt that. It would give him proof that he wasn't crazy or a freak. reassurance like that is a powerful thing. I've often wished to find some way of proving to myself that the world I live in is real. Silence reigned above my head an I realised the soul gaze must have begun. barely a few secons later I heard a scuffle of shoes and Jamie fell out of the tree. I had taught the kid something about how to fall, but whatever he saw had him too shocked to focus and he dropped like a rock.<p>

"god Jamie are you alright?"

he nodded blearily and I helped him sit up. I checked for any injuries and let out a sigh of relief when I found none. Anastasia climbed down beside me and was shaking her head.

"Apologies young man, it would have been more sensible of me to initiate a soul gaze on the ground. The first time experiencing it is always a touch overwhelming"

Jamie still looked a bit zoned out, clearly he was still thinking about what he saw, taking Anastasia aside I asked her what he saw.

"That I cannot say for I have never gazed on my own soul, as for what I saw. He has a good heart, but his power roars inside him like fire, he fears it, and as long as he fears his power he is in danger of it consuming him, but he is not without strength. all he needs is a guide"

I nodded my agreement and felt another surge of relief when Jamie's eyes slid back into focus.

"Whoa that was just, whoa"

I felt a chuckle escape me and helped pull Jamie back to his feet. Once he was brushed off we started back towards my sisters house. I couldn't begin to guess at what the kid saw, but it had helped him none the less. the walk back was about 15 minutes and he talked the whole way, asking Anastasia a relentless stream of questions about wizards and his powers. When we arrived Rick was back and sat in the living room with Lisa. He reacted in much the same way as Lisa, but after almost an hour explaining he finally seemed to come to some sort of peace with the situation, Anastasia and I left them both in the living room to talk. Once outside I let out a breath of relief.

"Well that went better than expected, what happens next?"

Anastasia was relaxing against the railing on the porch, she looked up at my question and smiled.

"That's up to him really, he could become and apprentice if that is his wish, or he could continue with his life as it is, either way we will give him just enough training and understanding to make sure he can control his magic and knows not to break and of the laws. Beyond that the choice is his"

Rick appeared a little while later and asked us to come back inside, Jamie was sat between his parents grinning from ear to ear

"Ok this is still a bit much, but we want to know what happens next, what is gonna happen to our son"

I knew Rick well enough to see that he was freaking out internally about everything, but he managed to keep his cool on the surface. I decided to let Anastasia do the explaining.

"Well Jamie I know i told you about a few of the options available now, whatever path you take, the decision is yours"

Jamie looked between his parents again, I felt kind of bad seeing him having to make such a decision. After a second he grinned and looked at Anastasia

"I think, I want to know more about magic, become a wizard like you, i mean I still want to got to school and stuff, but i want to do magic too"

After that announcement Lisa made dinner for us all. Once seated round a table Jamie continued chatting animatedly with Anastasia and his parents about magic, just the idea of the supernatural still freaked them out, but they both smiled at their son. Anastasia left after dinner promising to be in contact soon. A couple minutes later I untangled myself and said goodbye as well. Once I had given them fair warning about technology around Jamie I departed. He was going to be alright, part of me wished maybe Harry could have been around to help, but the rest of me realised that I had been left enough knowledge to guide them through this on my own. With a snort of laughter I realised I had just been handed another troublesome wizard to look after, and this one was family too.

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><p>rule one in story writing, conflict is key, so i feel bad for not having much in the way of conflict, but don't worry this is just setting the foundations, the fun stuff is yet to come<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

This poor story has gone neglected for too long so it's time to fix that, this chapter is the first in at least a double update, possibly a triple depending on how much caffeine i ingest. And next in this story we have a return of everyones favourite family, the Carpenters, seriously these guys are awesome and i hope i did the characters justice

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><p>Walking up the drive to my sister's house I couldn't help but feel a small pang of sympathy, what had been a well-kept respectable home now looked like it had seen better days, a combination of spells gone awry and Jamie's temper. I peeked into her van as I passed and noticed a large stack of light-bulbs on the backseat. Smiling slightly I continued up the path and knocked on the door. Michael Carpenter was the one to open the door, a broad smile on his face that made him seem years younger. He caught my hand in a firm grip and then disappeared back into the house. Michael had come as a blessing to my sister during the early days of her sons training, and was a master of preventative maintenance which kept his house and Lisa's running. My sister was in the kitchen alongside Charity making short work of lunch for everyone gathered after the Sunday service. I could hear Jamie and Harry outside, along with the rest of the Carpenter's save Daniel and Matthew. Daniel was away and Matthew was working alongside his father. I peeked out the window and saw Jamie stood in the middle of the garden face screwed up in concentration. Molly watched over him with a critical eye and a murmured instruction every few seconds. She made an amazing teacher and was smiling broadly as her young apprentice drew a stream of water from the ground, the tendril slowly rising further and further in time with his breathing. I saw Michael watching as well and smiled.<p>

"Molly makes a good teacher" I said taking my eyes of the kids "and your kids make good friends, I'm glad Jamie's getting along with them so well"

Michael erupted into a low chuckle that I could almost feel through the soles of my shoes, I lifted an eyebrow in confusion

"Just imagining the repercussions of calling them kids" he explained with barely disguised mirth "even little Harry isn't little anymore"

I looked out the window again and had to admit he had a point, Harry was almost the same age as Jamie and had the same dark hair as his father, although the look in his eyes as he watched Jamie practice was nothing short of childish amazement.

"True enough" I said chuckling along with him "How's Molly doing?"

Molly had made a fine recovery from her physical injuries in South America, but mentally it was a different story. Losing Harry had hit her as hard as the rest of us and she had become withdrawn and depressed, and even the love of her family couldn't drag her out of it. It was Ebenezar McCoy who had changed that, instead of babying her he had stung her pride over and over, saying how ashamed he was to see an apprentice of his grandson reduced to a snivelling wreck. It worked like a charm, Molly got her act together, if for no other reason than to prove him wrong, she gained a seat in the white council within a few years, and became an active member of the paranet, wreaking havoc on anyone that would wish wizards harm. It made her parents proud to see her with such purpose, and when she learnt that Jamie needed a mentor she put her name forward, saying 'it's what Harry would've done'.

"She is enjoying her role in the council and as Jamie's mentor" he said joining me in looking out the window "I feared she would never recover after Harry's death, it is good to see her like this"

As we both watched Molly snuck up behind her apprentice and blew gently on his ear, the effect was instant and the stream of water came crashing down on his head. The carpenters erupted into roars of laughter while Molly told Jamie he needed more concentration. He simply shot her a glare and dropped his soaked shirt on the ground, causing a cacophony of wolf-whistles and other noises to erupt from his audience. He took his position in the centre again and steadied his breathing. A year ago exercises like this we beyond him, and now he was slowly gaining skill, Molly had said once that his main problem was fear, as long as he feared his power he could never control it properly. I turned from the window once more and looked over at Charity.

"How's she coping with Daniel's new job?"

Michael stiffened slightly in the process of changing light bulbs, something he didn't even need a ladder for.

"Becoming a knight of the sword has helped my son in many ways, but every parent worries about sending their child into danger"

I nodded my head in agreement. The fear that had been ripped into Daniel when he was younger had left him as an echo of what he should have been. Amoracchius had changed that, the moment Daniel had touched the sword the fear that bound him was swept away. Charity had not taken to the news well but had nonetheless accepted her son's new position.

"What of you Karrin, have you considered taking up Fiddelachius?"

I knew that question was going to be asked sooner or later. The sword of faith currently resided in my house until I could find a better owner. I knew the power the sword possessed in my hands, but after what happened to Harry. Michael saw the look on my face and seemed to know what caused it, dropping the subject.

"If you ever need to talk Karrin"

He let the statement hang and then left to continue his work. I went back to watching my nephew. I watched in amazement as he started drawing water from the ground again, instead of a single stream, several were gliding into the air above his head, joining to form a shimmering globe of water. The Carpenter kids made noises at random to try and break his concentration but the globe barely wobbled. I turned my back on the scene. It was probably the only reason I escaped without serious injury. Glass shattered behind me. Shrieks of surprise sent jolts of adrenaline up my spine, and the tell-tale metallic smell of blood hit my nostrils. I tried to turn and felt a sharp sting in my leg. I looked down and saw a piece of glass embedded in my calf muscle. The last thing I remembered before passing out was Lisa and Charity running towards me. When I finally woke up I was still at my sister's house, surprisingly I felt pretty good. I cracked an eye open and saw Charity and Lisa packing away the first aid kit. Molly hovered close by and Michael was outside with the kids.

"What happened?"

My question made everyone jump; nobody had seen me wake up. Molly walked over slowly, she looked relieved.

"Jamie" she said simply pointing to the shattered glass and the holes in the garden fences and chipped plaster on the outside walls "He got scared and lost control of the spell, I'm sorry Karrin"

Satisfied that she had done her bit Molly disappeared outside to check on her siblings. I moved slowly but didn't feel too many flares of pain from my leg; the injury clearly wasn't too serious.

"It was those motorcycle leathers you insist on wearing Karrin" said Lisa looking worriedly up at the ceiling "the glass only pierced it at your knee, even then only slightly"

I thanked my lucky stars that I had taken my bike to my sisters. Focusing on the garden I looked for Jamie. He was nowhere in sight, Lisa followed my gaze and then pointed to the stairs. Wincing slightly I started the climb, leaning on the banister for support. When I reached the top I was surprised to hear two voices in Jamie's room, it took me a second but I recognised Harry's voice as well as my nephews.

"It wasn't your fault Jay" said young Harry in a calm reassuring voice "your aunt will be fine and nobody else got hurt"

Deciding against entering for a second I rested against the banister and listened.

"I lost control, it keeps happening" Jamie replied voice full of shame "and now people are starting to get hurt, it's dangerous"

Jamie had been so excited when he first discovered his magic, but as he learnt more and began to understand the extent of it, Jamie had begun to fear his power, the damage it could cause

"That's only cause you believe it's dangerous" said Harry in that same steady reassuring tone "it's like riding a horse, if you believe the horse is gonna throw you off then you'll get thrown off, you just have to believe that you can control it"

For a youngster Harry made a lot of sense, Wizards could only do magic if they believed in it and If Jamie believed his power was dangerous and outside his control then it was as good as true.

"Now come on, show me that spell again one more time"

I was across the hall with my hand on the door before I heard Jamie speak again.

"Not a chance, if your sister finds out I was attempting a spell unsupervised she'd skin me alive"

I heard a giggle from the two boys inside and couldn't help but laugh myself. Molly had been pretty relaxed and let Jamie choose the shape he wanted his magic to take, the paths he wanted to walk, however that was the one concrete rule and Jamie was smart enough not to break it.

"Come on let's go down and get some food"

I slipped quickly down the stairs before they could leave the room smiling to my sister as I sat down. Jamie and Harry came down a moment later. Harry shrugged at his mother's questioning glance before escaping outside. Jamie hovered by my chair.

"Pass me a sandwich Jamie and all is forgiven"

I left a touch of humour in my voice and Jamie smiled, quickly running into the kitchen and grabbing the sandwich. I took it outside and we all enjoyed an early evening picnic in the garden. Lisa despaired at the state of her house; luckily Michael offered to repair damage to the fence and the bricks. Molly smiled at her young apprentice and told him not to worry about it, as mistakes go this was a little one. All was relaxed and back in balance with the world. The sun was just beginning to set when a man came in through the back gate. Stallings was walking calmly and slowly, but I recognised the purposefully calm gait.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but I thought you should know, Rick is missing"

I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach

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><p>dun dun dun. if you want answers or to keep reading then go to the next chapter. as always i really appreciate reviews and constructive criticism.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

i'm really bad when it comes to cliff hangers, i just can't resist them, lucky for you guys you get some answers now. I'm really enjoying writing these stories and hope you guys are enjoying reading them, so please enjoy.

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><p>With hindsight Stallings should have probably spoken to Lisa and me in private. The effect of a few simple words was chaos. In the end it had taken the combined efforts of Michael, Molly and Charity to round up all the kids and calm them down. Charity and Michael offered to let Jamie stay with them while Molly stayed with me to help with the investigating. Lisa was distraught but sat through Stallings explanation. Rick had been part of a joint operation between SI and the FBI. It had ended in disaster. Half the men involved were injured and Rick had gone entirely unaccounted for. I didn't want to imagine what could have done this. It had been a simple mission; possible drug ring that had an interest in the occult was enough to bring Rick and Stallings together. Once the raid had begun everything went wrong. Stallings had felt something wrong with the place even if he couldn't say what it was and instantly called for a retreat. Rick hadn't listened. Molly listened to everything Stallings said and went to call someone on the landline, my guess a wizard contact.<p>

"Most of the men will recover, a few are in critical condition" said Stalling with a sigh "The stuff we found in there, circles and pentagrams, I don't know exactly what the hell it's all for, but something in that place set my teeth on edge"

Stallings had probably been sensing magic in the air. If it made him feel that bad it definitely wasn't the positive well-meaning kind. I tried to recall everything Harry had told me about circles, focusing his spell, and sometimes containing others. Of course I was purposefully trying another option that sprung to mind, summoning and containing demons. Stallings went on to mention a few bodies, probably the drug ring/sorcerers involved in this mess while Molly spoke to a warden.

"The wardens have been notified of possible black-magic" said Molly after finishing her call "I'll be able to tell you more if I could look at the crime scene, but if it was a summoning then the demon should have been sent back to the never-never after sunrise this morning"

Stallings looked a little confused by half of what Molly said, but the idea of the fallout from this nightmare being contained sat well with him. With the FBI involved he couldn't get Molly to the crime scene, but with a little help from Butters he could let her examine some of the bodies.

"Alright Molly go with Stallings and find out anything you can from the bodies" I said wincing slightly as I got up and grabbing my helmet "I'm gonna take Lisa over to the Carpenters and meet you at the morgue"

Stallings raised an amused eyebrow at the idea of being ordered around but grabbed his keys and left with Molly. With the house empty I realised I had been trying to avoid talking to my sister.

"He's going to be alright, isn't he Karrin?" Lisa asked in a voice that was barely a whisper

Seeing just how vulnerable my little sister was I sat down on the arm of her chair and put an arm around her. Oh if Harry could see me now, he'd think I'd gone soft. Finding myself cheered by a memory of my friend instead of depressed put me in a positive mood.

"I'm not going to answer that question until I know myself Lisa" I said seriously, catching her eyes when she looked up "but believe me, you've got the FBI, SI and the white council on the hunt for Rick, and he's in good hands"

Any pretence of calm left my sister after my words and she finally started crying. She was exhausted and worried and it was catching up to her. I steered her gently from her seat and into her car, and drove her over to the Carpenter household. Half of the streetlights were out and there were a few bleating car alarms on the street. I realised I had one more stop to make before I could help with the investigation. Once inside Charity made quick work of setting my sister up with a hot drink, before taking a place on the couch next to her. I had a feeling that Charity would be the best person to look after Lisa now, with her husband and children in the firing line daily Charity was probably very good at coping with feelings of panic. I asked after Jamie, Michael directed me up the stairs and I was greeted by the familiar sounds of Jamie and Harry. Not waiting this time I entered the room, they were both sprawled out on Harry's bed staring at the ceiling, Jamie looked like he'd been crying, Harry's face held the same impregnable calm that his father possessed. Upon seeing me Jamie leaped up from the bed and pulled me into a hug. I rubbed soothing circles on his back for a minute until he calmed down.

"I'm gonna help find him Jamie" I said sitting him down on the foot of the bed "I promise I'll do everything I can"

He nodded slowly until he'd regained his composure. Harry had sat up next to him and taken over my job, slowly calming his friend.

"I want to help" He said in a calm and steady voice "I want to help find my dad"

I had to catch myself before the word no spilled from my lips. In truth I wanted nothing more than to say no and keep him out of it, but I knew Jamie, if I said that he'd get involved on his own unsupervised.

"I knew you'd say that and I've got a job for you" I said with a hint of pride in my voice "there's a slim chance that a demon might have been what took your father, I want you to get in touch with any paranet members in the area and ask them if there's anything out of place, creepy vibes, missing pets that sort of thing"

Jimmy nodded his head energetically and bounded down the stairs with Harry to commandeer the Carpenters land line. I followed them down but paused at the front door.

"If you find anything you call me first OK" I said in a tone that promised unbelievable trouble if I was disobeyed

Both boys nodded fervently before starting the long and hopefully trouble-free process of tracking down paranet members. Michael gave me a slight nod as I left the house, I knew if all else failed he'd keep them out of trouble. Climbing back into my sister's car I pointed the clumsy vehicle to the morgue. The journey was slow going and I felt a pang of annoyance when I had to wait for Butter's confirmation to be buzzed in. in the past I would've walked straight in. The shock of black wiry hair and the slow tremor of polka music told me that all was well in the world of Waldo Butters. He led me to a room that contained a nervous looking Stallings. The reason for his nerves was Molly, there was a wisp of magic in the air and she was bent over the body of a man who looked to be in his forties. The body alone confirmed our demon theory, the man had been eviscerated. Butters held a finger to his lips and pointed at Molly. I nodded my head and we waited patiently. After a few seconds Molly flinched away from the corpse.

"It was a demon" she said after steadying her breathing "this guy tried to contain it in the circle, it broke free and killed him"

She concentrated for a few more seconds but gave up and shrugged her shoulders.

"This guy must have been dead before Rick entered" Molly said apologetically "I didn't get anything more than that"

I nodded my head slowly and we all left the room to allow Butters to work, if magic couldn't point us in the right directions then forensics might. Once outside Stalling took the both of us to one side and made sure there was nobody listening.

"Alright Karrin, I'll continue the missing persons on my end okay, you two follow from the other side, hopefully we'll meet in the middle and find Rick"

I nodded my agreement and thanks and followed Stallings out of the morgue with Molly right by my side. Realising just how shaky Molly looked and how hungry I was I decided it might be best to retire for the night and start fresh. The smell of Charity's cooking was a welcome thing when we both got back and my stomach growled in agreement, I also noticed a lack of car alarms and other malfunctions, that meant Jamie had calmed down as well.

"I'm glad you're both back" said Charity settling me and her daughter down with some food "Lisa is asleep in the guest room, and Jamie and Harry are keeping themselves occupied in the living room"

Judging from her tone occupied probably wasn't something she approved off. Putting it off for a minute I tucked into the offered food, smiling slightly to myself at the notion of Charity's cooking being divine. Once finished I braved the lounge, Michael sat on the couch with an amused smile on his face. His youngest son and my nephew as well as Alicia, Amanda and Hope were all gathered around a map that encompassed an entire wall. Red string connected points on the map to sticky notes. I took a peek at one of the notes and found an address, name, telephone number and a statement, in this case several missing animals in area. Given how little time I'd been gone for I couldn't help but be impressed. Jamie was still at work around the map but I could see him watching me out of the corner of his eye.

"Nice work" I said drawing the attention of the room "this is really good work guys"I looked over the whole thing and could see a general grouping of points head up through the city, the timeline showed me they were heading north.

I knew the correlation might mean nothing, but after all the effort the kids had put in I felt obliged to investigate. I took down the general location of the last point in the sequence before heading for the door. I didn't get very far before Jamie cut me off, he was ready to leave and I noticed Harry behind him as well.

"Please. Molly said the demon will be gone by now" he said holding up a hand to stop me saying no "and you might need my help to track my dad, we only narrowed it down to a five mile radius"

I looked to Molly who was sat next to her dad on the couch. She gave me a slight nod of her head and then a miniscule shrug of her shoulders. He was right about the demon, beyond that she left it up to me. Michael looked sternly at Harry who didn't budge an inch from his friend's side, after a few seconds of this a small smile graced Michael's lips and the two of them disappeared out the door. The drive to the last point on the map took about an hour, almost as soon as we got there Jamie's eyes opened wide and he started directing me off the main road. After a few minutes I began to pick up on whatever it was he sensed. I wished I'd realised sooner that magic that strong meant that something really wasn't right.

* * *

><p>The name harry must attract trouble, afraid you aren't going to get many more hints from me until the next chapter. until then reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated<p> 


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